Christmas tree branch holder



Apm'ifi 24, T1951 CHRISTMAS TREE BRANCH HOLDER- Filed July 19, 1947 INVENTOR Z WILLIAM R REILLY BY W AT ORNEYS w. P. REILLY 2,55,@23

Patented Apr. 24, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention appertains to holders and brackets and more particularly to a novel appliance for securing branches to the trunks of trees (such as Christmas trees) for decorative purposes.

One of the primary object of my invention is to provide a branch holder for tree which can be quickly and easily attached to a tree trunk without the aid of tools, for replacing broken branches or for attaching branches to bare parts of the tree.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a tree branch holder which will be durable and efiicient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture and one which can be placed upon the market at an extremely low cost.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a Christmas tree branch holder which can be economically formed from a single piece of sheet metal and which when formed includes a resilient cuff having one or more sockets on its terminals for receiving and supporting branches at a desired angle.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a Christmas tree branch holder which can be readily sprung around a tree trunk at the desired point and which has formed on its terminals coiled sleeves for receiving the branches to be supported.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing Figure l is a side elevational view of my novel tree branch holder, parts of the holder being shown broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the branch holder.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through one My holder H can be formed from a single strip of sheet metal 8, shown in Figure 5 of the drawings .and the metal is preferably cut in its flat form to provide a pair of inner prongs 9 and a pair of outer prongs Ill. The strip of metal is fabricated to provide a substantially cylindrical cuff ll open at one side and the terminals of the cuff are rolled to provide inclined sockets or sleeves l2. By referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, it can be seen that during the rolling of these sockets that the corners of the metal strip will be disposed uppermost to provide points l3, which effectively function to engage the sides of branches to effectively support the same.

The prongs 9 are stamped inwardly and are adapted to dig in a tree trunk. The prongs ID are also stamped inwardly and are adapted to dig in branches 6 placed in the sleeves or sockets l2.

The holder is preferably formed from metal possessing some resiliency and in the use of my holder the sleeves or sockets l2 are grasped by the user and the cuff is sprung open against the inherent resiliency of the metal and the cuff is then placed around the tree trunk at the bare spot of the tree. Upon release of the sockets or sleeves [2 the cuif will resume its normal position and embrace the tree trunk. The prongs 9 tend to dig into the tree trunk and hold the cuff in the desired position. The branches can now be placed in the sockets l2 and the sockets function to hold the branches at the desired angle. If desired, only one socket can be used and where necessary both sockets can be used.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided an exceptionall simple tree branch holder which will effectively accomplish its purpose and which can be associated with a tree 'without the use of tools.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. A device particularly adapted for holding branches on tree trunks comprising a resilient tree trunk engaging cuff open at one side, tree branch receiving sockets formed on the terminals of the cuff arranged at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the cuff, said sockets also forming finger pieces for facilitating the spreading of the cuff to permit the same to be sprung around a tree trunk and a flaring tree trunk entrance throat.

2. A device particularly adapted for associating branches with a tree trunk comprising a resilient cylindrical tree trunk engaging cuff open at one side, tree branch receiving sockets on the termi- REFERENCES CITED nals of the cuff arranged at an angle to the long" The following references are of record in the tudinal axis of the cuff forming a, flaring entrance file of this patent: throat, struck in tree trunk engaging prongs UNITED STATES PATENTS formed on the cuff, and struck out branch en- 5 gaging prongs formed on the sockets. Number Name Date 7 1,317,590 Obolewicz Sept. 30, 1919 WILLIAM P. REILLY. 1,571,581 Fliegelman Feb. 2, 1926 1895609 Davis "J'an. 31, 1933 m 2,275,282 Bigham Mar. 3, 1942 

